A’s To Sign Michel Inoa
According to John Manuel of Baseball America, the A’s have reached an agreement with 16 year-old Dominican righty Michel Inoa. He’ll receive a $4.25MM signing bonus, a record for an international amateur (excluding Cuban defectors). Manuel reports that the Yankees had a tentative deal in place for $2.7MM at one point but agent Adam Katz stepped in and raised the price.
This signing is akin to drafting a top high school player here in the states, only Inoa is younger. Oakland’s farm system has improved drastically in the last year or so.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltre, Washburn, Escobar, Duchscherer
Ken Rosenthal brings us his latest Full Count video:
- Rosenthal thinks the Mariners should consider dealing Adrian Beltre along with Erik Bedard by the deadline. The A’s and Dodgers would be interested in the 29 year old. Also, Jarrod Washburn‘s stock is rising.
- If Kelvim Escobar makes a strong return to the Angels rotation, Jon Garland could wind up on the trading block. As it stands, Escobar is slated for relief duties initially.
- 30 year old Justin Duchscherer could be Billy Beane’s best trade piece. His sparkling 1.99 ERA in combination with his being signed through this year for only $1.2MM make him a very palatable option.
Odds And Ends: Brewers, White Sox, Astros, Harden
A few minor notes from around the MLBiverse…
- Jon Heyman came up with a list of 19 pitchers that could be made available prior to the trade deadline. He also presents a list of 12 candidates that the Mariners may consider for their vacant GM position.
- The Brewers’ assistant GM indicated the team would like to add a starting pitcher to give the pitching staff more depth.
- Ken Williams says that he is happy with the White Sox’ roster and has not assigned scouts to specific players on other teams that could be available.
- Richard Justice says that the Astros will not ship off veterans before the trade deadline, but also notes that they might not be able to even if they wanted to be active sellers.
- Rich Harden struck out 11 in eight shutout innings in front of a number of scouts two nights ago. Also at this link, Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin have heard trade rumors about themselves. Gaudin is "convinced that he’s going to be traded."
- Derek Jeter vouched for Shawn Chacon‘s character.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here. Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Billy Beane To Step Down In ’09?
According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, the A’s assistant general manager David Forst has turned down all interview requests. The feeling is that Forst is expected to take over for Billy Beane as Oakland GM as early as next season.
It has been reported previously that Beane would like to test his Moneyball strategies in soccer. A’s owner Lewis Wolff also owns the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS and Beane may decide to focus his attention on the soccer franchise in ’09. It is unclear whether Beane will remain involved with the baseball operations.
GM Trade History – Billy Beane
A student from Villanova University, Brendan Bianowicz, emailed me asking if he could help with the site in any way. I had always wanted a full trading history of all 30 GMs. Brendan jumped at the opportunity to compile this data.
Today we have Billy Beane’s Trade History for you to download in Excel form. Brendan gets extra credit for putting free agent and draft pick info in the spreadsheet as well. Thoughts on this spreadsheet or the endeavor in general?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Blake, Greinke, Tejada
And now…a fresh Ken Rosenthal column.
- An opposing viewpoint: Rosenthal says "any team that acquires C.C. Sabathia would gain an exclusive window to sign him long-term before he reaches free agency." Rosenthal notes that the Brewers and Rays are stacked enough to acquire Sabathia and wouldn’t mind taking draft picks for him after the season.
- Casey Blake is drawing trade interest; his versatility is a plus. Rosenthal likes the fit for the Dodgers, Mets, and A’s.
- An anonymous general manager tossed out this "trade concept": Adam Dunn to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre, Chin-lung Hu, and cash. Thoughts?
- Teams such as the Braves, Phillies, and Brewers have expressed interest in Zack Greinke at some point, but the Royals plan to keep him. He’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.
- Earlier this year the Cubs inquired on David DeJesus, but now they seem content with their Jim Edmonds–Reed Johnson platoon. Maybe talks will be rekindled after the season?
- The Astros will talk about any player on the roster without a no-trade clause, which would include Miguel Tejada. Does that mean Jose Valverde, Hunter Pence, and Wandy Rodriguez aren’t off limits?
Rockies Scout A’s-Phillies Series
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Rockies had two scouts at the recent A’s-Phillies series. The Rox are currently eight games out in the NL West despite a 32-47 record.
The following Rockies have popped up in past rumors: Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, Garrett Atkins, Kip Wells, and Willy Taveras. Fuentes has been linked to both the A’s and Phillies. Ken Rosenthal wrote on Tuesday that the Rockies are willing to trade Fuentes regardless of whether they’re in the playoff race.
A’s Talk Extension With Mark Ellis
According to MLB.com’s Mychael Urban, A’s second baseman Mark Ellis instructed his agent Jamie Murphy to talk to the team about an extension. Murphy is talking to A’s assistant GM David Forst. They haven’t discussed money or years yet but both sides would like to reach a resolution before season’s end.
Ellis, 31, is hitting .261/.349/.432 in 296 plate appearances. In a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, I wrote that Ellis might be this offseason’s affordable alternative to Orlando Hudson. Now it looks like he might not make it to the open market.
Odds and Ends: Bautista, Uehara, Pavano
I tried busting out my old Super Nintendo last night, to see if I am still the Mario Kart stud I once was. The console didn’t work right though, so I ordered something called the FC Twin. It’s a console that came out a few years ago when Nintendo’s patent expired; it plays both NES and SNES games. I’m excited! On to the hot stove links.
- We’ll be doing our usual live chat here today at 2pm CST.
- The A’s don’t anticipate any problems in signing top draft pick Jemile Weeks. And the D’Backs are nearing a deal with their top choice, Daniel Schlereth.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is working to trade recently-designated reliever Denny Bautista. He’s optimistic. There is a general tone of optimism in this entire odds and ends post, in fact.
- NPB Tracker has an in-depth look at Koji Uehara, who will finally get his wish of trying MLB in ’09.
- Steven Goldman thinks it’s time for the Yankees to trade Melky Cabrera, who seems a bit of a tweener. Might be better to trade him amid a hot streak though. At least that’s what I do in fantasy baseball!
- Yankee whipping boy Carl Pavano could actually be around in August.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony appeared on their Whip Around program (the 6/23 link). He mentioned that he doesn’t expect the Brewers to make a major acquisition.
- Speaking of MLB.com, they’ve got a new Trade Talk blog up where various beat writers have weighed in.
Michel Inoa Ignites Three Team Bidding War
A week ago, we summed up the reports about 16 year-old Dominican righty Michel Inoa. He’s considered the equivalent of a top ten draft pick here in North America. It’s only fitting that the bidding could creep past $3MM.
Today, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas has a new update on Inoa. Rojas says the Rangers and Reds have joined the Athletics in a three-team bidding war for Inoa’s services. The kid is not interested in a big league deal. As the bonus amount rises, many teams are bowing out (all 30 teams have evaluated him). The international signing period begins on July 2nd.
Baseball America has a slightly different take on Inoa. They say the Yankees are still in it, but the A’s are the frontrunner. His bonus will be "at least $4 million."